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    Home » Recipes » Pressure cooker

    Pressure Cooker Mac and Cheese

    Published: Oct 8, 2024 · Modified: Oct 21, 2024 by Mike Vrobel · This post may contain affiliate links · 267 Comments

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    Collage of images showing the steps to make mac and cheese in a pressure cooker

    Pressure Cooer Mac and Cheese is my go-to Macaroni and Cheese technique. I make it in my Instant pot for weeknight dinners, and as a side dish for potlucks. 4 minutes at high pressure cooks the noodles, then it's time to stir in the cheese. That’s right, homemade mac and cheese that didn't come from a packet in a blue box, ready in about a half an hour.

    A plate of Mac and Cheese with bread crumbs

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    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • How to Make Pressure Cooker Mac and Cheese
    • Quick Tips
    • Storage & Reheating
    • Pressure Cooker Macaroni and Cheese
    • Related Posts
    • 💬 Comments

    For years I made the mac and cheese from Pam Anderson’s The Perfect Recipe. Then I read Ideas in Food; their recipe was similar to Pam’s, stripped down to the basics.

    Both recipes use evaporated milk as their secret weapon. Evaporated milk replaces the flour and milk béchamel sauce, and all the whisking that entails. I mashed the two recipes together, and that’s what I’ve been using ever since.

    Now, even with the evaporated milk shortcut, this was a stretch to make on a weeknight. Especially if I want a toasted bread crumb topping. And if I’m making macaroni and cheese, it must have a bread crumb topping.

    That’s why I jumped when I saw the pressure cooker macaroni and cheese in Pressure Cooker Perfection. They pressure cook the pasta and spices in a small amount of water, treating it like a risotto. This trick really speeds up the recipe - no waiting for a pot of water to boil, no draining, and one (pressure cooker) pot to clean. Weeknight macaroni and cheese is now within my reach. 1In fact, the Pressure Cooker Perfection version looks like the Ideas version, which obviously built on Pam’s version, which she developed while she was working for Cooks Illustrated. What comes around, goes around...

    Ingredients

    • 1 pound dried elbow macaroni
    • 2 tablespoons butter
    • 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
    • 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
    • 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 2 teaspoons table salt
    • 4 cups water
    • 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
    • 16 ounces shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
    • 6 ounces shredded parmesan cheese

    Bread Crumb Topping (optional)

    • 1 cup panko bread crumbs

    How to Make Pressure Cooker Mac and Cheese

    Pressure cook the pasta for 4 minutes with a quick release

    Stir the macaroni, butter, mustard, hot pepper sauce, salt, and 4 cups water in the pressure cooker pot. Lock the lid on the pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 4 minutes in an electric PC or stovetop PC. (For an Instant Pot, use Manual or Pressure Cook mode, and set the time to 4 minutes.) When the cooking time is done, quick release the pressure and remove the lid.

    Stir in the evaporated milk and cheese

    Turn the heat under the pot down to low (or turn the electric pressure cooker to sauté-low or keep warm mode), and stir in the evaporated milk. Test a piece of pasta by taking a bite - it should be al dente, but cooked through. If the pasta is still tough in the middle, simmer it for a few minutes, until it is tender. Stir in the cheese one handful at a time, stirring constantly and waiting for the current handful to melt before adding the next handful.

    Top with breadcrumbs and broil

    Optional step, if you like a toasted bread crumb topping: Pour the macaroni into a 3 quart broiler-safe dish, patting it down to level out the surface. Sprinkle the panko over the macaroni and cheese in an even layer. Broil the macaroni and cheese on high until the bread crumbs are toasted, about 5 minutes. Check the bread crumbs often - they go from pale brown to burnt in a flash.

    Quick Tips

    Ratio of 1 cup of water to 4 ounces of pasta

    4 cups of water is just enough to cook 1 pound (16 ounces) of pasta. No draining is necessary; the water will be absorbed by the pasta. If you have a smaller box of pasta - 12 ounces and 13.25 ounces are common sizes of whole wheat pasta - cut the water back to 3 cups. (Everything else can stay the same.)

    Serve with a bottle of hot sauce at the table.

    I like Frank’s Red Hot, or the smoky flavor of chipotle hot sauce.

    Watch the bread crumbs under the broiler

    I have burned a lot of bread crumbs in my day. I set a timer for 1 minute intervals while I’m broiling, in case I get distracted. (By a homework meltdown…just to pick a hypothetical example). I have the timer to remind me - “Oh no! The breadcrumbs!”

    Storage & Reheating

    I save leftover mac and cheese in 2-cup containers. It will last in the refrigerator for a few days, or in the freezer for months. (Mac and cheese freezes well). I reheat 2-cup containers of mac and cheese in the microwave - it takes about 2 minutes to reheat from the refrigerator, or 6 minutes from frozen. (Your microwaving time may be different, depending on how powerful your microwave is.)

    Print
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    A plate of Mac and Cheese with bread crumbs

    Pressure Cooker Macaroni and Cheese


    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

    5 from 68 reviews

    • Author: Mike Vrobel
    • Total Time: 25 minutes
    • Yield: 8 servings 1x
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    Pressure Cooker mac and cheese - quick, easy, and better than the dreaded blue box.

    Adapted from: America’s Test Kitchen Pressure Cooker Perfection


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 1 pound dried elbow macaroni
    • 2 tablespoons butter
    • 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
    • 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
    • 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 2 teaspoons table salt
    • 4 cups water
    • 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
    • 16 ounces shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
    • 6 ounces shredded Parmigiano cheese

    Bread Crumb Topping (optional)

    • 1 cup panko bread crumbs

    Instructions

    1. Pressure cook the pasta for 4 minutes with a quick release: Stir the macaroni, butter, mustard, hot pepper sauce, salt, and 4 cups water in the pressure cooker pot. Lock the lid on the pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 4 minutes in an electric PC or stovetop PC. (For an Instant Pot, use Manual or Pressure Cook mode, and set the time to 4 minutes.) When the cooking time is done, quick release the pressure and remove the lid.
    2. Stir in the evaporated milk and cheese: Turn the heat under the pot down to low (or turn the electric pressure cooker to sauté-low or keep warm mode), and stir in the evaporated milk. Test a piece of pasta by taking a bite - it should be al dente, but cooked through. If the pasta is still tough in the middle, simmer it for a few minutes, until it is tender. Stir in the cheese one handful at a time, stirring constantly and waiting for the current handful to melt before adding the next handful.
    3. Top with breadcrumbs and broil: Optional step, if you like a toasted bread crumb topping: Pour the macaroni into a 3 quart broiler-safe dish, patting it down to level out the surface. Sprinkle the panko over the macaroni and cheese in an even layer. Broil the macaroni and cheese on high until the bread crumbs are toasted, about 5 minutes. Check the bread crumbs often - they go from pale brown to burnt in a flash.

    Equipment

    6-Quart Pressure Cooker

    Buy Now →
    • Prep Time: 5 minutes
    • Cook Time: 20 minutes
    • Category: Weeknight Dinner
    • Method: Pressure Cooker
    • Cuisine: American

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    Collage of images showing the steps to make mac and cheese in a pressure cooker
    Pressure Cooker Mac and Cheese - Step by Step Tower

    Video: How to make Pressure Cooker Macaroni and Cheese (5:13)


    Video: Pressure Cooker Macaroni and Cheese [YouTube.com]

    What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

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    Click here for my other Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker recipes

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    Comments

    1. Jonathan says

      September 06, 2015 at 8:56 pm

      Dude - this is the BEST Mac and Cheese I have ever eaten! Very easy to make, though my pressure cooker took a bit longer than the 4 minutes (wasn't quite al dente after 5....so I put it back under pressure for 2 more minutes (total 7) and it was perfection! Thank you!

      Reply
      • Mike V says

        September 07, 2015 at 7:49 am

        You're welcome!

        Reply
    2. Kyla says

      August 31, 2015 at 6:02 pm

      Has anyone made this with gluten free pasta? If so, did it turn out well. Thanks!!

      Reply
      • Maureen says

        December 29, 2015 at 6:07 pm

        Yes! Used Barilla Gluten free elbows and didn't change anything. Worked well.

        Reply
        • Carla says

          March 02, 2016 at 10:38 am

          yay! thank you! DH hates mac and cheese and my boys love it so I wanted to make it tonight for supper. Adding some summer sausage.

          Reply
    3. Martin says

      August 27, 2015 at 1:14 pm

      This is the best mac and cheese recipe we have used for our pressure cooker. The two boys devoured their plates after a long day playing outside. Grandparents also really enjoyed it. Legend

      Reply
    4. Sarah says

      August 17, 2015 at 8:25 pm

      This was a hit! I used veggie elbow macaroni and it turned out great! I love that I don't have to drain the pasta.. One less dish to wash!

      Reply
    5. Jamie says

      July 26, 2015 at 10:09 pm

      My kids really enjoyed this tonight, thank you!

      Reply
      • Mike V says

        July 26, 2015 at 10:44 pm

        You're welcome!

        Reply
    6. Jamie says

      July 26, 2015 at 11:40 am

      Has anyone tried with whole wheat noodles? Would you increase cooking time a bit?

      Reply
      • Mike V says

        July 26, 2015 at 11:41 am

        I use whole wheat noodles all the time - no change in cooking time.

        Reply
        • christine z says

          January 14, 2016 at 6:08 pm

          I just used no yolk whole wheat egg white noodles tonight - FANTASTIC texture!
          I will say the cheddar cheese made it gritty - won't do that again, but the taste sure made up for it!

          Reply
    7. Ruby T says

      June 27, 2015 at 6:23 pm

      I recently purchased a pressure cooker with a cookbook. The cooker is great and so are most of the recipes, except the mac and cheese. The recipe is designed so everything can just be dumped into the pressure cooker at once, so the recipe calls for twelve slices of American cheese.The resulting dish was simply disgusting. All I could taste was the American cheese (one slice on a cheeseburger is okay, but twelve slices in a dish - UGH!!!). I tried adding different ingredients but there was nothing to cover the taste. I had to throw it out. Your recipe, on the other hand, is terrific! I changed the hot sauce to Worcestershire sauce. This is a great dish and very easy. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Mike V says

        June 28, 2015 at 6:49 am

        You're welcome! Glad I could give you a better alternative.

        Reply
    8. KimD says

      June 11, 2015 at 7:08 pm

      Tried this tonight. While it did take only a half an hour, it wasn't al dente, it was squishy. I might try modifying it a bit, cook less, leave out the parm so my son will eat it. Hopefully I can salvage what's left so my family will eat it.

      Reply
    9. Sandra says

      May 29, 2015 at 7:24 pm

      Great recipe!! Simple and delicious and the whole family loved it! Thanks for posting!! Pressure cookers are life savers 🙂

      Reply
      • Mike V says

        May 29, 2015 at 7:57 pm

        You're welcome!

        Reply
    10. Alice says

      April 12, 2015 at 9:14 pm

      This is a delicious recipe, but a word of warning. When I vented my cooker, it erupted like a volcano, with liquid flying out the top all over the place. Guess I should have seen that coming, since the pasta went in dry and cooked with all its glorious starchiness. Next time, I'll have a kitchen towel ready to throw over the top.

      Reply
    11. Lisa says

      February 20, 2015 at 3:03 pm

      FABULOUS!!! I bought my electric pressure cooker three weeks ago, and with your recipes(and some modified recipes of my own) , I have used it almost exclusively. My family can't wait to find out what I have made for dinner, and swooned over the Mac and Cheese. This is DELISH! Looks so beatiful in my pretty casserole dishes.

      Reply
      • Mike V says

        February 20, 2015 at 3:11 pm

        You're welcome - glad you enjoy it!

        Reply
    12. grandma says

      February 18, 2015 at 4:39 pm

      Great dish.....yummy

      Reply
    13. Julie says

      April 21, 2014 at 7:19 pm

      Just in case it was too tight a fit, I only increased the recipe by half. It probably would have all fit, but it would have been tight. It took about 20 minutes for it to come up to pressure. It was delicious and well received by all the diners. The exact words from my son were, "You have to make this again. It was over the top." I added a little liquid smoke and skipped the parm, but it was an excellent dish! Thanks!

      Reply
    14. Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says

      April 11, 2014 at 1:15 pm

      You should be able to double it, but it will be a tight fit. Watch out when you're stirring in the cheese - I'm a little worried about the pot overflowing while you stir.

      And, if you do it, please report back on how it went!

      Reply
      • Kristina R. says

        March 04, 2018 at 7:38 pm

        I doubled this recipe no problem! Just needed two people to stir ha ha since it's so much cheese! Was a huge hit at our family Sunday dinner and we've made it twice since with different pastas!

        Reply
    15. Julie says

      April 11, 2014 at 1:12 pm

      This looks awesome. I want to make this for a large group. Can I double the recipe in the Instant Pot?

      Reply
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    Welcome to Dad Cooks Dinner!

    I'm Mike Vrobel, a dad who cooks dinner every night. I'm an enthusiastic home cook, and I write about pressure cooking, rotisserie grilling, and other food topics that grab my attention.

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